LAHORE: On Tuesday, the Lahore High Court (LHC) told the government to punish Station House Officers (SHOs) harshly if people are caught driving without licenses on the roads in their areas.
In order to save lives on the roads, the court also told the government to start a full-scale effort to get people who don’t have valid driver’s licenses to stop driving.
The city traffic officer (CTO) says that there are 7.3 million cars on the roads, but only 1.3 million licenses have been given.
Justice Ali Zia Bajwa was in charge of hearing a case about a driver who was too young to drive. The driver was pleading for a fair trial and due process in his case. After his car crashed into another car, he was jailed.
Six family members, including two babies and two women, were killed in a terrible accident in Lahore’s DHA neighborhood on November 13. Their car was hit by a fast car driven by a teenager. The driver was caught and named Afnan Shafqat Awan.
Article 10-A of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan 1973 (fair trial and due process) says that the accused, Afnan, asked the judge to protect him.
In the plea, it was said that the accused were being targeted by the media, along with Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Ali Naqvi, Lahore CCPO Bilal Saddique Kamyana, DIG Investigation Imran Kishwar, SP Investigation, and other police officers.
At today’s hearing, Justice Bajwa told the City Traffic Police to make sure that e-papers are given to drivers after hearing that civilians asking for licenses were not getting them.
At 2 p.m. today, Justice Bajwa also called on the director general (DG) of excise and revenue to explain why cars were being registered without licenses and what steps have been taken since the problem was brought to light.
Justice Bajwa told the CTO and the DG, “everything must be done within the law and discriminatory attitude will not be welcomed.” He also made it clear that power abuse or exploitation would not be allowed in this drive.
On one point, Additional Advocate General Ghulam Sarwar Nihung said that 2,986 FIRs had been filed against people who were caught driving without licenses.
The accused’s lawyer said that under traffic rules, a teenager could be given a Rs500 challan, but the process of filing a FIR makes the teenager’s crime record longer.
Justice Bajwa then asked the lawyer for the accused if a teen driving without a license would not be considered negligent. He also asked the lawyer to “cite any law or judgment in support of teen driving or unlicensed driving.”
In response to the judge’s question, the lawyer couldn’t give any evidence.
The police officer told the judge that Afnan was being held physically until November 23.
The judge asked if there was a challenge to the young suspect’s remand. When the lawyer for the accused said no, Justice Bajwa said, “You did not do what you should have done.”
At the same time, Justice Bajwa asked what was going on with the accused’s father. They told the judge that he had been granted freedom by the anti-terrorism court.
Judge Bajwa also told the case’s Investigation Officer (IO) to look into this issue properly.
CTO’s press talk
On Tuesday, the CTO of Lahore said that traffic cops gave out more than 16,000 learner licenses to drivers every day. He also said that 30 offices, 10 mobile vans, and three centers work around the clock to issue traffic licenses, and three more centers are being built in the city.
